The family of a woman from Burnham Green who died after taking a fatal mix of beta blockers and alcohol has paid tribute to her.

Jennifer Collins, 42, was found dead on May 29, 2017, days after she was reported missing from her home by her partner.

Speaking after her inquest on March 20, her family paid tribute to a 'bright' and 'kind' woman whose passing has deeply affected her immediate family.

Her mother, Gill Nuttal, who spoke on behalf of the family, said: "She has left a big hole in our lives. We were all very close. She was much loved. She was very bright.

"She was very friendly, she gave away a lot of her money to various charities and she would always give money if she saw anyone on the streets.

"She had so many good qualities and she was such a good looking girl.

"We were aware that Jenny suffered from alcohol problems and it had been particularly bad in the last two or three years.

"It is very difficult with an adult to know what to do."

Only the morning before she went missing she had spent time talking about visiting the Hertfordshire Show and was looking forward to her brother and his family visiting from the United States.

An inquest heard that she had suffered from alcohol dependency and on the day she disappeared on May 27 she had been drinking and had gone to read a book in the sun.

Jennifer Collins, from Burnham Green, who died after taking a fatal mix of drugs and alcohol in May, 2017

When Jennifer, who was a civil servant at the Home Office, did not return by the next morning and her partner Trevor Mahter found empty pill packets on their bed, he reported her missing to the police and informed her mother.

He later found her in a wooded area in a dell less than a mile away from their home on the morning of May 29 and she was later pronounced dead by police.

Homicide detectives were part of the initial investigation into her death, which was an 'unusual case' as the family raised concerns that the drugs could have been ingested using subterfuge.

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Detective Inspector Thomas Leek said: "It was an unusual case. In this case considering Jennifer's age, and her condition, her employment, and also being that she was found by the person who reported her missing and being aware of an indication from her family of abuse we knew we would be probing this case.

"We did look into the evidence of whether Jennifer had willingly taken the drugs or whether it had been through subterfuge but we found no evidence of that. There was no evidence of third party involvement."

Jennifer Collins who died after a fatal mixture of drugs and alcohol

Following a postmortem into her death days after she was discovered she was found to be between two to three times the legal drink drive limit and was likely even more intoxicated when she died.

She was also found to have suffered numerous cuts and bruises to her head, chest, arms, and legs.

The inquest heard that Jennifer was reported missing on May 28, 2017, about 12 hours after she was last seen by Mr Mahter.

On May 27 she had gone shopping at Waitrose in Welwyn Garden City with her mother and was looking forward to going to the Hertfordshire Show the next day.

During the inquest the court heard testimony from Mr Mahter that Jennifer had been drinking during the afternoon and after the couple had argued she had left the house to enjoy the sun and read a book at around 4.30pm.